Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

The replacement would be paid for by limiting tax breaks on generous health plans people get at work.

Politico:
Leaked GOP Obamacare Replacement Shrinks Subsidies, Medicaid Expansion
A draft House Republican repeal bill would dismantle the Obamacare subsidies and scrap its Medicaid expansion, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by POLITICO. The legislation would take down the foundation of Obamacare, including the unpopular individual mandate, subsidies based on people’s income, and all of the law’s taxes. It would significantly roll back Medicaid spending and give states money to create high risk pools for some people with pre-existing conditions. Some elements would be effective right away; others not until 2020. (Demko, 2/24)

Stat:
The GOP Plan To Replace Obamacare: 5 Takeaways
The final version is likely to be different — how much different, it’s hard to say. The draft obtained by Politico is dated two weeks ago, and rumors have been swirling here that Republicans received an unfavorable analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, the official scorekeepers on the cost and coverage implications of legislation. But this is nonetheless an important milestone — real legislative text, prepared with an eye toward the complex parliamentary procedures needed to pass ACA repeal with only Republican votes, and presumably with the endorsement of House leadership. (Scott, 2/24)

The Associated Press:
GOP Proposal Aims To End Insurance Mandate In 'Obamacare'
A draft Republican bill replacing President Barack Obama's health care law would end its Medicaid expansion, scrap fines on people not buying insurance and eliminate taxes on the medical industry and higher earners.Instead, it would create tax credits worth up to $4,000, allow bigger contributions to personal health savings accounts and impose a new levy on expensive health coverage some employees get at work. (Fram, 2/25)

The Washington Post:
House GOP Plans To Keep Some Medicaid Expansion — And Steer Money To States That Never Bought In
Congressional Republicans have been struggling for months to resolve one of the most vexing problems in their tortuous effort to replace the Affordable Care Act: What to do about the generous federal funding for states that broadened their Medicaid programs under the law, while not shortchanging the 19 states that balked at expansion? Now, as the House begins to hone details of its legislative proposal, a possible compromise has emerged. It would temporarily keep federal dollars flowing to cover almost the entire cost of the roughly 11 million Americans who have gained Medicaid coverage but would block that enhanced funding for any new participants. (Goldstein and Eilperin, 2/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
GOP’s New Plan To Repeal Obamacare: Dare Fellow Republicans To Block Effort
Republican leaders are betting that the only way for Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act is to set a bill in motion and gamble that fellow GOP lawmakers won’t dare to block it. Party leaders are poised to act on the strategy as early as this week, after it has become obvious they can’t craft a proposal that will carry an easy majority in either chamber. Lawmakers return to Washington Monday after a week of raucous town halls in their districts that amplified pressure on Republicans to forge ahead with their health-care plans. (Radnofsky, Peterson and Armour, 2/27)

NPR:
Obamacare Rollback Bill Would Replace Subsidies With Tax Credits
The draft bill is consistent with what Republicans have been saying they want to see in place of Obamacare, says Rodney Whitlock, vice president of health policy at ML Strategies. "No surprises here," says Whitlock, who was formerly the Republican health policy director for the Senate Finance Committee. "These are all ideas Republicans have championed. Now the Congressional Budget Office will decide if they agree." (Kodjak, 2/24)

Bloomberg:
GOP Obamacare Plan Would Cover Fewer People; Blowback Grows
At the core of the Republican argument in favor of their plan is that it will expand access to insurance for those who want it, rather than expanding total coverage by forcing people to. The requirements for repealing the ACA mean it’s not possible to keep the same number of people covered, said Representative Trent Franks, an Arizona Republican. (Tracer, House and Edney, 2/24)

Forbes:
Hospitals Where Trump Won Face Closure If GOP Repeals Medicaid Expansion
News that Paul Ryan and the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives want to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion has rural hospitals facing a huge financial hit with hundreds of health facilities already facing closure. ... Even without an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, more than 670 rural hospitals are at risk for closure, according to The Chartis Group , which released a study earlier this month at the Rural Health Policy Institute. The group examined hospital performance across nine measures, including a population health metric that shows impact on their communities and a loss of 137,000 “community jobs” including 99,000 jobs in healthcare, the Chartis Group report said. (Japsen, 2/26)

Bloomberg:
Abortion Spat Imperils GOP Obamacare Repeal And Risks Shutdown
Republicans in Congress have made cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood one of their top priorities, but the issue could stymie President Donald Trump’s Obamacare repeal plans and even trigger a government shutdown. House Republicans insist that the emerging plan to end Obamacare must cut off an estimated $500 million in annual federal funding for Planned Parenthood over its provision of abortions, aiming to carry out two longtime GOP campaign promises at once. Democrats are equally determined to ensure that won’t happen, and a few Republicans may stand with them. (Kapur, John and House, 2/27)

The Associated Press:
Pre-Existing Conditions Complicate Health Care Replacement
As Republicans try to unite around a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, one of the most popular parts of the law will be among the most difficult to replace: the guarantee of health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. The challenge of providing insurance for Americans who have no other alternative has some congressional Republicans considering whether to ask the states to reboot high-risk pools, an option with a rocky history. In the past, the pools served as insurers of last resort for people in poor health who could not get an individual policy from a commercial insurer. (Johnson and Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/25)

The New York Times:
Key Republican In Health Law’s Fate Hails From A State That Embraced It
When Representative Greg Walden of Oregon visits his expansive district, which swallows two-thirds of a very blue West Coast state, his constituents grouse amiably to their longtime Republican congressman about environmental regulations and federal lands policy. And then the conversation shifts to the Affordable Care Act and what its repeal would mean for the struggling rural workers who have long voted for Mr. Walden, and for children like 11-year-old Rocco Stone. Because of the health law, Rocco has been able to live at home, attend school and have a nearly normal life despite having autism and a rare genetic disorder. (Pear, 2/25)

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